Front door for the secondhalf of my life using my time while disabled to become a book reviewer, editor, and blogger……. Advocating for Liberty and Veterans who suffer with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Severe Memory Impairment, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumas, and those with Crohn's Disease and Seizure Disorder. Of course too I may muster the courage to begin my Scale Models again but fight tremor so bad that it maybe something best to just hang up and sell off. I've lost nearly every enjoyable skill and struggle with the idea of "doing it at all if I can't do so to the ability I once had". I'm most busy with doctors appointments and maintaining my 120 Year Old House, My Shop, Ranting, Retirement, and More… This blog was begun right before my health, career, and entire life's direction was wildly changed, so though the page is 5+ years old, it is bare boned.

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Welcome to the blog diary of the Work in Progress (WIP) for my MRC/Gallery 1/350 scale San Antonio Class (LPD-21) the USS New York. I am keeping a handwritten log as well as a master plan set in order to bring this all together, but will use this page to hit the major highlights of the build. With approximately 2000 parts in play, it will take much planning to bring the photo-etch (PE) together in concert with the build.

This will be my first attempt at building a ship and most would agree I have bitten off probably far more than I should have with this subject in this scale with this detail set. I figure it will only make be a better all around builder and will be an enjoyable challenge. My wife thinks I'm crazy too be sure, and as I talk about where it will end up when I'm finished; she's none too happy….. Should I gift it to RS New York, to the 1st Marine Corps District, to the Tun Tavern? Keep it, or maybe gift it to a local library/municipality…. Shoot, I have some rather influential Marines in my life that would appreciate it. We are talking lots of money invested and thousands of hours more than likely.

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So I got stumped on my big Ferrari builds and decided to build something different in order to break free from it. I have now figured out what. My block is with the Ferrari’s; I know this because the same is beginning to happen with the Ducati Desmosedici: I’m over working and thinking it. Those who know me are already aware that this is something I do often. Works great with books, writing, and philosophy. One would think that scale models are also a good place for such OCD behavior. After all, isn’t attention to detail, clean building, and patience a large part of being successful in the hobby? Not at the expense of enjoying the hobby and not completing projects. So while I’ll update where I’m at with the Ducati build, I’m going to also try to move faster through this one so I can reattack the Ferrari’s once complete. I’d like to build clean like David Thibideau.

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I think everyone did really good tonight. Allyson got a truckload as usual and a LeapFrog2. Taylor made off with an iPhone, Halo4, an annual XBox Gold membership, and more. Wendy got the Uggs she had been wanting and I got the Nike+ GPS watch & Black Ops 2…. Oh and I got an iPhone 5 because Wendy washed my phone 4s. Life is good, too bad I haven’t spent more time painting and have to return to work Wednesday. Gonna go lay down a coat of AlClad on the Tamiya 1:12 Ferrari 312T4 Chassis, set out Santa stuff and then snuggle with the love of my life. Be strong my Friends in harms way tonight. I’ve been forward on Christmas and I know how bad it blows, but at least we got to take out a monster ammo dump on Christmas morning as a gift. Kidding aside, the Beaman hearts and thoughts are with you.

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-Mobile Toolkit: You may have seen in my Ferrari 312T4 WIP that I talk about my mobile tool kit or bag. Essentially, because I have a very busy life without a whole lot of time for building models, I have developed a kit bag using an old soft-sided fishing tackle bag. I have a self healing mat that is the exact size of the base of the bag which helps it hold my kit more or less in a well organized way. Being a Marine and having lots of experience packing for the field, I like having everything with a place and everything in its place. I have my sharp tools in hard-sided pen and pencil cases, then along the top have multiple transparent kevlar pencil cases from Blick Art Store that are sorted into sandpapers, files, sanding sticks, tweezers, scribes, sprue-cutters, etc.. I carry a small jar of CA, Tamiya Thin, and putty also. A breakdown bag that houses resealable bags of every sort, a bunch of large and small old prescription bottles, and a sharpie round out the kit. The kit allows me to take small parts that I’m prepping or working on with me to the bedroom, to the living room to watch TV, or even to work on processing Saturdays when there’s not a lot going on.

Check back soon as I’ll add photo’s and list out the products and unlikely items I use in my tools. I’ll also be listing my airbrush tools and over in the painting page will cover laquers, enamels, acrylics, and even inks and how I shoot acrylic hobby paints that come $0.99 of the shelf at your local Wal-Mart or Crafts Store.

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19 Nov Update- Received the unbuilt model today…. all the pieces appear to be accounted for. There are only a few parts separated from the sprues, but of concern is that the nose cowling molded in chrome is one of them. It looks as though it’s been bumped around quite a bit over the last 20+ years, but looking through a plastic bag; I can’t really tell. I’ll deal with that on another day though. The decals however are absolutely horrible and I will have to order some aftermarket to do the job

**Feel free to make a recommendation if you know of some good ones**

As with any kit, the first thing I’m going to do is to say the hell with the instructions and go straight for the engine! (It’s the American way!) Parts: A21, A17 (Engine Block), A20, A56 (Block Ends), and A18, A19 (Head Covers) are removed from the tree immediately. I already have them in a kevlar bag upstairs in the bedroom with my mobile tool bag and will trim the sprue bits off before I go to bed tonight. Test fitting that will make me feel as though I’ve actually begun this build. I have about 5 different shades of aluminum and steel Alclad that are going to bring this huge 12 cylinder Ferrari Boxer engine to life. The clutch is a Borg & Beck driven by a Ferrari 015 Trasversale transmission. More to come, but aside from the decal let down I’m very happy with the unboxing of the Ferrari 312T4.

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Attached is the box art of the 312T4… This is a highly detailed but broken edition. I will be breaking it down for parts and to build shop components to augment a Ferrari Garage Display. I will also get to practice my idea of using rare earth magnets to hold panels and some components in place. If successful I intend to incorporate into the new 1:12 kits an possibly into some 1:24/25 Enzo’s that I’m building (really unhappy with the fitment of rear engine bay door); maybe I’ll even open a hood on an Enzo or FXX.

Will take some componentry pictures late this week once I asses what damage is done. All the paint that I’ve seen must go and be redone. The body panels are not even painted, just clear coated on the outside. Many items appear to have been detail painted after being installed; I don’t want to build my T4 in the order of the instructions, so this autopsy will go along way for me to figure out how best with my skill set to build F1 cars.